PARKVIEW CHRISTIAN, from p.14
The parents were especially
upset because Parkview does not
explicitly outline any LGBTQ-related
policies. Neither the daycare
nor the K-12 school mention any
such policies in their handbooks,
even though those handbooks do
explicitly state that parents who
are sex offenders can enter school
property and attend events at the
school.
Parkview Christian Academy
states on its website that it “admits
students of any race, color and nation
of ethnic origin to all the rights,
privileges, programs, and activities
made available to students
at the school. Parkview Christian
Academy admits students who are
non-Baptist, but all students and
parents must be in agreement with
the Statement of Faith.”
Had Brittney and Stacey known
they would be rejected, they said
they wouldn’t have bothered applying
in the fi rst place.
“Maybe y’all should post that
you don’t accept children of same
sex marriage and let your directors
know so they as well know to ask
the questions up front,” Brittney
wrote.
She continued, “So does that
mean ‘unwed parents’ can not enroll
their kids? Does that mean ‘divorced
parents’ cannot enroll their
children there? Because sin is sin
and Jesus sat and welcomed allllll
the sinners. We were not trying to
plague your daycare sir, WE ARE
GAY, our daughter IS NOT!”
Even in the absence of LGBTQ
specifi c policies, the school’s
guidelines refl ect a culture of strict
rules built around conservative
Christian traditions. The website
states that each student “will be
disciplined as needed with fi rm
Christian love, according to individual
needs. A student must learn
to submit to authority. If a student
learns to submit to teachers, parents,
and others in authority, then
he or she will learn to submit to
God’s authority in his or her own
life.”
Comments on Ready’s Facebook
post illustrated a variety of concerns
about the school’s culture
and policies, including allegations
of racism as well as invasive policies
banning people from working
there if they are not married to a
signifi cant other they live with.
One woman, Destiny Marie Beasley,
said she worked at the school
for four days but was asked during
her interview if she was married.
“I said yes and they said, ‘good
because if you weren’t then we
couldn’t hire you if you lived in the
same home as a man you weren’t
married too sic,’” Beasley wrote.
Stephanie Howard, who attended
the school from elementary
school through middle school, said
she was one of only three black
kids at the school and “hated going
there.”
“After a church director told her
son not to play ‘N***** Music’ on
the way back from a football game,
I was over it,” Howard wrote.
All in all, the Facebook post
yielded 199 comments featuring
a range of complaints from people
recounting bad experiences at the
school. Three days after the Ready
family’s Facebook post went viral,
Dr. John Collier, who serves
as both the pastor at Parkview
Baptist Church and the president
of Parkview Christian Academy,
oversaw a July 21 church service
and seemed to address the criticism
surrounding the school.
“Before we get into our study,
let me just say a couple of things,”
Collier said during the service,
which was posted in its entirety
on YouTube. “One of our ladies
this morning mentioned to me
after the service that some of her
friends, when she decided to come
to Parkview, said, ‘I can’t believe
you’d go to a church like that.’... I
said this to her, and I think maybe
it bears repeating to you tonight.
People that talk about us don’t really
know us. I do preach hard and
I take a hard stance on morality
and godliness and spiritual living.
But outside the pulpit, I try to be
as nice as I can be. That’s diffi cult
sometimes.”
Collier did not immediately respond
to emails seeking comment
for this story. Principal/ administrator
Amy Landers and student
ministries pastors Joey Crenshaw
and Doug Landers also did not respond
to requests for comment.
Attempts to reach the school
by phone were unsuccessful and
school offi cials did not return messages
seeking comment.
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